During the decade which concerns this site Humber appears to have served as a custom-recording studio and possibly as an independent production company, as well as a record shop. It was founded by Les Johnson in the early 1970s, and it was - indeed it may well still be - based in Grimsby. Initially it seems to have been responsible for the HRS label (q.v.) but from around 1976 the Humber label appears to have taken over. As can be seen from the - catastrophically gappy - discography below, catalogue numbers were somewhat varied. Early on, it looks as though the numerical part was common to all three formats, singles, EPs and LPs, with singles being prefixed 'HRSP' and LPs 'HRLPS'. In the late '70s, however, things got complicated. HRLPS-024 and 024 appear to have come out later than their numbers would suggest, and EPs seem to have started off being numbered separately in the HREP-000 until a 1981 EP by Rock 'n' Roll band The Riot Rockers went back to using the main series.
Humber's products have proved difficult to trace, as the gaps in the discograpy testify. It's difficult to believe that dozens of them exist but are google-proof, so it may be that some of the missing catalogue numbers weren't used. There are a few collectables on the label. The Riot Rockers record goes for decent money, as does an EP by Punk band The What ('What Is The Cure', HREP-004; 12/1979); in addition the two Various Artist 'Humber Beat' albums (HRLPS-024 and 028) are modestly sought-after. The Pisces single pictured above, 'Up The Mariners', is a song in praise of Grimsby Town Football Club rather than a tale of sexual deviation at sea, and it was pressed by Lyntone, as were several other of the company's products. The studio's custom-made records were presumably pressed in small quantities, but some of the independent productions from the 1980s served better: both 'Makin' It' (Parts 1 & 2) by Good News (HUM-52; 1984) and Stacey Rae's 'He Used To Bring Me Roses' (vocal b/w instrumental version) (12/1987) - the theme from Prisoner Cell Block H - both seem to have shifted a good number of copies. The former exists as a 12" single as well as a 7". The '80s issues used a different label design to the one shown above. If anyone is able to provide details of missing Humber records I'd be pleased to hear from them.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.